Black Sticks Men’s and Women’s squads selected for Oceania Olympic Qualifiers in Australia
Black Sticks Men’s and Women’s national hockey teams have been announced for the Oceania Cup Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to be held in Hobart, Australia from October 6 to 9.
Black Sticks Men’s coach Shane McLeod has selected a very seasoned team which includes Phil Burrows, Blair Hopping and Dean Couzins who collectively have 730 caps under their belt playing for the country.
“This Olympic qualifier forms a key component of our preparation towards Champions Trophy and will allow us to test our game against a world champion, gold medal team. We will need to match their aggression and pace; increase our scoring opportunities and finish
off the opportunities we create,” Shane McLeod stated about the tournament as the stage for their Champions Trophy’s preparation.
Black Sticks Women’s coach Mark Hager has selected a dynamic team which consists of the unchanged 18 players who defeated Australia in the pool match and also snatched the bronze medal at the 2011 FIH Women’s Champions Trophy which was held in Amsterdam,
Netherlands in July.
“This will be a hard fought series against a top team - there is so much rivalry between these two sides,” Mark Hager stated about their tough upcoming assignment.
Black Sticks Women’s squad for the Oceania Cup includes the following athletes:
Kayla Sharland, Ella Gunson, Emily Naylor, Anita Punt, Krystal Forgesson, Sam Harrison, Katie Glynn, Alana Millington, Clarissa Eshuis, Lucy Talbot, Cathryn Finlayson, Gemma Flynn, Anna Thorpe, Sophie Devine, Charlotte Harrison, Stacey Michelsen, Sally Rutherford
(Goalkeeper) and Bianca Russell (Goalkeeper).
Meanwhile, Mark Hager will be the Head Coach along with Greg Nicol and Chris Leslie as his assistants. Debbie Balme will be the team manager, Fiona O’Connor Physiotherapist and Ian Hicks Performance Analyst.
Black Sticks Men squad for the Oceania Cup consists of the following players:
Andy Hayward, Blair Tarrant, Simon Child, Blair Hopping, Hugo Inglis, Nick Wilson, Dean Couzins, Blair Hilton, Bradley Shaw, Phillip Burrows, Shea McAleese, Matt L’Huillier, Stephen Jenness, Richard Petherick, Ben Collier, Steve Edwards,
Stephen Graham (Goalkeeper) and Kyle Pontifex (Goalkeeper).
Meanwhile, Shane McLeod will be the Head Coach along with Darren Smith and Sean Dancer as his assistants. Keith Rowley will be the team manager, Peter Lee Physiotherapist and Ian Hicks will work as Performance Analyst.
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